User Support Forum

Ok, I'm ready to tackle my multiple fund mess - one at a time. We have an organ fund that is kept in a separate money market account. The checking used for church operations works as a flow through for this. So there is income from contributions specifically for the organ fund. Then there are expenses that occur for the care and upkeep of the organ which are paid specifically out of this fund. Quarterly, the net amount is moved to or from the money market, depending on if there is a deficit or positive cash flow. Can you please explain how I should enter these items in Powerchurch - I'm not going to offer (my bad) suggestions:) The organ fund is set up as an equity fund. Thank you so much!

Andrew18 wrote:Ok, I'm ready to tackle my multiple fund mess - one at a time. We have an organ fund that is kept in a separate money market account. The checking used for church operations works as a flow through for this. So there is income from contributions specifically for the organ fund. Then there are expenses that occur for the care and upkeep of the organ which are paid specifically out of this fund. Quarterly, the net amount is moved to or from the money market, depending on if there is a deficit or positive cash flow. Can you please explain how I should enter these items in Powerchurch - I'm not going to offer (my bad) suggestions:) The organ fund is set up as an equity fund. Thank you so much!

Organ fund ... separate MM checking - ASSET, right ?? You said it closes to a separate equity (fund balance) account, not the default 01-3110-000 which is the unrestricted net assets account. Does this account have any restriction on it as in, it can only be used for the organ? I'm assuming not because you say you move funds out which would not be a restriction.

Before I go any farther, how is the money put into the account? You write a check, or is it transferred?

Yes, the organ fund is ONLY for organ related items: expenses and income. Tuning the organ gets paid from the Organ memorial fund held in the separate Money Market account. We pay such items from the checking account then it is reimbursed by EFT transfer from the actual Moneymarket account at the the bank to the church operating checking account. So the Organ memorial fund is restricted in that it was set up specifically for the care and upkeep of the organ. That money can only be used for those things. Then if there is an organ recital and people donate to the organ fund bc of the recital, or someone decides to contribute to the organ fund, then income comes in and would go back to this Moneymarket account where the Organ memorial fund is kept.

Andrew18 wrote:Yes, the organ fund is ONLY for organ related items: expenses and income. Tuning the organ gets paid from the Organ memorial fund held in the separate Money Market account. We pay such items from the checking account then it is reimbursed by EFT transfer from the actual Moneymarket account at the the bank to the church operating checking account. So the Organ memorial fund is restricted in that it was set up specifically for the care and upkeep of the organ. That money can only be used for those things. Then if there is an organ recital and people donate to the organ fund bc of the recital, or someone decides to contribute to the organ fund, then income comes in and would go back to this Moneymarket account where the Organ memorial fund is kept.

Kind of awkward. I'd just setup the memorial fund as a completely separate accounting fund, example; Fund OF (organ fund) ... with its own checking account OF-1110-000. and its own income and expense accounts. You would just write the check from that account, it already has its own separate account anyway, I would go the entire way with it. This would eliminate all the 'shuffling' of funds to the operating fund when money for the organ is spent.

It would entail having to enter any donations separately from normal contributions, but it already sounds like its done that way anyway.

Hmmm, ...remember I have 15 other funds that comprise money held in two (yes two) Money Market funds. Snip.
One is a facilities fund that pays for everything building except for maybe a nut and bolt, for example. Don't money markets have limits on how much check writing you can do from them? That is why we use a regular checking account as a flow through for all of the funds, then transfer a net positive or negative to and from the corresponding money market - 1 transfer for the net activity of the 15-fund group, and 1 for the organ fund MM.
These are set up to work together, and most likely that was done correctly bc we had PowerChurch set up these accounts for us when we moved to Powerchurch in January. I was filling in the gaps, that's where the fun started so the fund are set up as 01-32xx- numbers, and each has a monetary value. Do I just use regular income and expense funds that tie back to their corresponding 01-32xx numbers?
I thought I had to set up restricted and release accounts - I think that was incorrect?
Then if I get them all in the same number range, I should be able to run a Detailed Changes in Equity Report and get the net change for all the accounts, yes?
Lastly, do I need to release the contribution income into the corresponding restricted fund, or does that just happen bc the contribution income fund is set to tie back to that account in the first place?

Andrew18 wrote:Hmmm, ...remember I have 15 other funds that comprise money held in two (yes two) Money Market funds. Snip.

Unless you've mentioned it in this thread, I don't recall that.

One is a facilities fund that pays for everything building except for maybe a nut and bolt, for example. Don't money markets have limits on how much check writing you can do from them? That is why we use a regular checking account as a flow through for all of the funds, then transfer a net positive or negative to and from the corresponding money market - 1 transfer for the net activity of the 15-fund group, and 1 for the organ fund MM.

Depends on the checking account ... the money market we use here at the church allows for 5 or so a month, every one is different. Considering that the organ fund is not used for expenses all that much, it is probably well within the limit.

These are set up to work together, and most likely that was done correctly bc we had PowerChurch set up these accounts for us when we moved to Powerchurch in January.

When you say you had "Powerchurch setup these accounts", do you mean you had your data converted from another program?

I was filling in the gaps, that's where the fun started so the fund are set up as 01-32xx- numbers, and each has a monetary value. Do I just use regular income and expense funds that tie back to their corresponding 01-32xx numbers?
I thought I had to set up restricted and release accounts - I think that was incorrect?

Again, I seem to remember saying that if you have a separate accounting fund for every little area of the church, there is no need to maintain any restriction, and the separate accounting fund does restriction. You will, however, have to have expense accounts for each one of those funds, but only for the area that is covered by those funds. Again, organ fund, only need to have expense accounts for Organ Tuning, and Organ Repairs. Income, only one if you only want to track all income to that fund, two if you want to separate direct donations from organ recital collections.

Then if I get them all in the same number range, I should be able to run a Detailed Changes in Equity Report and get the net change for all the accounts, yes?

If you just want net change on each fund, its easier to run the Accounting Fund Balances report, which will give you a summary of changes for the month, and YTD if you also select that choice.

Otherwise, I'd use Income & Expense reports to show what expenditures there are for the month.

Lastly, do I need to release the contribution income into the corresponding restricted fund, or does that just happen bc the contribution income fund is set to tie back to that account in the first place?

You only RELEASE fund when they are spent, not when they're coming in. If the Contribution Fund is setup correctly, all you need is post transactions for the income to be properly posted.

Thank you, you answered my questions, and repeated some answers that I didn't quite get the first time you said it. Yes, Powerchurch loaded our data from quickbooks, and we had them set the funds up for us (thank goodness, well worth every penny!!)
I did use a different thread with slightly different question yesterday - this bunch o funds stuff you left for another day, so I started a new thread here.
Thank you so much for your patience and excellent explanations, I can go back and clean up now.
I'll be back in a few days - I need to figure out why the bank reconciliation isn't working - soon as this cleanup is done...see you on the next thread.